Isn’t it every child’s dream to discover a lost treasure that peeks into the past? Daniel Larsen may have done just that. In 1992 Larsen’s mother, Lois Smith Larsen, daughter of Frederick Madison Smith, RLDS Church President, and son of Joseph Smith III, bequeathed him some family heirlooms. One was a pocket watch with a Joseph Smith III monogram. The second was a similar but smaller locket. The locket was gold plated, about 1 ½”, and had a jammed mechanism. He secured these in a safe for later perusal.
In 2020, he came across the keepsake items and grew curious. This time he forced open the locket and discovered a picture, a daguerreotype. Larsen said, “I looked at it and I looked at it and saw those eyes. I told my wife to come in and look at this. We looked at it and…almost at the same time said, ‘This is a photo of Joseph Smith.’” quoted from Trent Toone’s article “Does an image of Joseph Smith exist? What one descendant found in a forgotten family heirloom” in the Deseret News.
Dan Larsen then emailed a photo of the image to his nephew, Lachlan Mackay, avid historian and Community of Christ Apostle. Mackay shared the image with the Community of Christ historian and archivist Ron Romig, and they began to investigate the provenance and possibility that the daguerreotype could be the earliest image of Joseph Smith. They spent the next two years working to authenticate the daguerreotype before their public announcement.
To view details of the authentication process (expert analysis, historical research, facial recognition software, forensic artist & overlays and cutaways): and to see pictures, see:
Facing death, Father Smith penned these words to his Dear Children: “Live together in an undivided bond of Love.” He urged them to continue to meet “if posably once Evry year [sic].”
By 1972, the Smith descendants were scattered not only across the United States but across the globe to Australia. Non–family member Buddy Youngreen became interested in the Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith family, began identifying cousins, and encouraged the first Smith Family Reunion in Nauvoo in 1972. Descendants gathered at the Old Homestead overlooking the Mississippi, reminisced over scraggly lilac bushes, and began getting acquainted.
Since then, cousins have continued gathering at various locations. Granite tombstones have been placed for Father and Mother Smith at the cemetery next to the Old Homestead. The family has also beautified the cemetery and added a newer marker for Joseph Jr., Emma, and Hyrum.
In August 2022, 340 family members gathered for the 50th golden reunion in Nauvoo and made and renewed treasured connections. Frances and Steve Orton, reunion presidents, honored those who attended the first reunion 1972. Beautiful lilac bushes grace the edge of the granite markers for Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum. Lilacs are a favored family flower planted at various Smith locations. Debbie and Courtney Nelson pressed lilac petals from family gardens and then presented lilac necklaces and keychains to those who attended the first reunion.
Lilac mementos were also made available to family members. Suzanne Jones said her necklace “helped me feel a connection to our wonderful grandmothers that I’ve not sensed before, and for that, I’m immensely grateful.”
Joseph Fredrick Smith, a great– grandson of Joseph Jr., and John Smith, a great-grandson of Hyrum were acknowledged as the oldest living descendants at the reunion.
Joseph asked John Smith, “How old are you?” Then, after they spoke their ages out loud for everyone to hear, Joseph boldly said with good volume, “You are older than me. Bless you!” Joseph then grabbed John in a firm hug and said again, “Bless you.”
In 1991 Lois Smith Larsen (Joseph Jr.’s descendant) and Donna Lee Frogley (Hyrum’s descendant), Joseph and Hyrum descendants, joined together to place a wreath at
the granite markers of Father and Mother Smith. This August, Zoe and Chloe, descendants of Lois Smith Larsen and of Joseph Jr. and Emma, again placed a wreath.
And on the grounds of Joseph and Emma’s Mansion home, youth and families also helped build a split rail fence between the Mansion Home and Sidney Rigdon’s property. “The kids participated with joy. To realize they actually put up a fence on Joseph Smith’s property is something they’ll remember all their lives,” said Bob Smith, Samuel H. Smith descendant. The family service project also included painting fence panels to surround a garden behind the Mansion House wing—part of the Smith Family Gardens Phase I Project.
Family members visited local sites, enjoyed meals and visiting together, and were able to join the idigNauvoo archaeological project at the Hyrum Smith office site.
Were Father and Mother Smith looking on, would not they have seen their posterity together in an “undivided bond of love?”
See the painting and building of the split rail fence:
Our family was not able to be together physically but we did gather in smaller family units and globally watched messages to honor the 200th Anniversary of Joseph Smith’s First Vision – 2020 Vision Celebration.
Fun Facts:
306 Viewers completed the mapping survey
1209 Viewers were reported on the survey
10 Countries had viewers
3.98 Average number of viewers per survey response
2,685 views reported by YouTube
With each reunion we traditionally we have a family photo. Not meeting in person meant our photo needed some creativity. I believe we accomplished this and we are grateful for your participation.
2020 Virtual Family Photo in the Sacred Grove
“This year has been full of so many things that have made us feel disconnected. Then the turmoil in the country and the world has pulled many apart. We wanted to find a way to bring everyone together and so we decided a virtual family mosaic would allow us this opportunity. Mosaics bring many pieces together in one unified image and because we could not meet in the Sacred Grove, we made us part of our own Grove.” – Frances Orton
The Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Association is offering annual scholarships to college, high school and junior high students who are planning to attend college or similar institution.
Up to $1,000
Deadline is July 1, 2018
How learning about the values and sacrifices of Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith’s family can help me and my family honor their legacy.
Thursday night registration will be held in the lobby of the Church Office Building.
Friday morning, we will have a family gathering at the Conference Center’s Little Theater. The afternoon will be open for individual family groups to take tours and enjoy time together. In the evening we will have a family dinner in the lobby of the Conference Center. This is a unique opportunity to sit down and enjoy a meal together as one large happy family group. A devotional will be held after the dinner in the Conference Center’s Little Theater.
Saturday, we will have our service project, family memorial and photo, and a picnic lunch at This Is The Place Heritage Park at 2601 East Sunnyside Ave. There will be free time in the afternoon to enjoy This Is The Place Heritage Park. Saturday evening, we have a family meeting in downtown Salt Lake at the Assembly Hall.
Then of course we will have our last gathering attending Music and the Spoken Word on Sunday.
The Spring Family Newsletter Is Here
We had an unfortunate mix up on the database and we are sorry for the confusion with the newsletter mailing. You may have received someone else’s name to your address. We apologize for the error. We hope you understand that we won’t be able to resend the newsletter.
The pattern used on the cover of the newsletter was taken from a shawl that belonged to Lucy Mack Smith under the design work of Danielle Maddox.
Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Association Is Working with Sleep In Heavenly Peace
The Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith Family Association is working with Sleep In Heavenly Peace for our summer’s service project. Sleep In Heavenly Peace was featured this month on a program called Returning The Favor. Please watch this clip https://www.facebook.com/ReturningTheFavor/videos/2020109721593621/ and see why their team stopped by Twin Falls, Idaho to meet Luke Mickelson who started Sleep in Heavenly Peace, an organization whose mission is to ensure that no child in their town ever has to sleep on the floor.
Registration and Meet & Greet at the LDS Church Office Building Lobby and Auditorium.
Showing of the Youth Media Scholarship Competition in the Conference Center Little Theater.
Dinner in the lobby of the Conference Center.
Saturday Service Project and events at This Is The Place Heritage Park.
– Building bunk beds.
– Wreath placing at Mary Fielding Smith cottage.
– Big family photo.
– Picnic lunch.
– Individual family time.
Father and Mother Smith knew as well as anyone what it meant to be refugees. But their trials had also allowed them to glimpse eternity. They saw their heavenly home and what their family could be, and this knowledge, like that of the saints before, gave them the strength to endure, to continue to dream of their heavenly home.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of Father and Mother Smith being driven from their home, and having to rebuild once again, in a tiny log cabin in Palmyra, New York. Here they would find a short refuge until they would be forced again to leave. Here Father and Mother Smith read the Bible to their children and plead for divine protection. Here, Joseph Sr. told his children of his remarkable dreams of the restoration. Here Lucy would tell her children how God answered her desperate prayers in a grove of trees. Here Joseph would read the invitation of the Apostle James and determine to ask of God
what he should do. Here the heavens would rend and the Angel Moroni would descend to reveal a mighty work and a wonder. Here, the family gathered nightly to hear Joseph recount his remarkable visions of the ancient inhabitants of this continent. Here the Smith boys and girls grew
strong in faith and work, believing that God was watching over their family. This place, more than any other, symbolized what can be ours – no matter the coming persecution, trials and difficulties – when we dream of our heavenly home.
On this 200th anniversary, the Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith descendants have the opportunity to gather in Salt Lake and help current refugees who
have been driven from their homes and lost their worldly possessions. We will be building bunk beds for refugee children and their families. We would like them to know that God is aware of them, that our family understands to some degree what it means to be refugees, and now with this gift, perhaps they too can dream of a heavenly home.